Big Time InLaws
by Devony V
Summary: "James, you don't ask a girl to marry you without meeting her parents. You need to ask her father for her hand, dummy!" James Diamond knew that he'd have to win over Emma's parents somehow. And he could, because he's James Diamond. Right? ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

**This story has been bugging me for awhile. I just wanted to see how everyone would like it before I really get into it.**

"Guys, how about this one?" James pointed at a large, silver number with an intricate design inside of the double bands. Diamonds dotted the outside of the ring.

"It's gorgeous, dude." Kendall didn't look up from his hockey magazine.

"That's a Neil Lane Bridal," the saleswoman spoke up. "One of our newer ones. Fourteen K, white gold, three-quarter carats."

"Too flashy." Camille said. "Not really Emma's style. It'll cover her entire finger. It kinda looks like battle armor."

James nodded. "Right. Her hands are delicate," he told the saleswoman. "She plays the piano a lot, though, you'd think that her hands are so brittle-"

"James, as cute as it is to hear you talk about your girlfriend like that, as your best female friend, I agreed to help you today, under the agreement that I don't miss my audition." Camille reminded him, tapping her watch. He sighed and nodded. "I know, I know-I just want to get something _perfect_. Something she'll love."

"You could always design a ring," the saleswoman suggested. James started, but shook his head. "I'd rather wait and design the wedding ring."

"Confident she'll say yes?" the woman smirked playfully.

James sighed dreamily. "Ohh, yes." he glanced out the window, his mind drifting to Emma, until Camille smacked him upside the head. "James! You gotta put a ring on it!"

"Right!" He continued to scan the row of rings while Kendall groaned and tossed the magazine down. "Dude, it's _Emma_. Whatever you get, she'll love it. Because it's from _you_. A symbol that she's marrying _you_."

"James Diamond." Camille smirked. James snorted. "Yeah, like she cares who I am. Remember how she wouldn't date me because of my attitude?"

"Remember how the only reason you liked her was because she's pretty?" Camille laughed. "This one?" she pointed toward one with a large diamond with the silver band snaking around it.

James glanced at it, then shook his head. "She told me a long time ago that she hates how the band does that. It reminds her of snakes or something. And yes, I do remember that." He rolled his eyes, chuckling. "And she's _still_ pretty. So hah."

Camille laughed and continued walking down the aisle way, searching for the perfect ring. Kendall's cell phone rang, blasting the Party Rock Anthem through the ring store.

"Hey baby," he said, answering it. James and Camille shared a knowing glance at each other, chuckling. Kendall and Jo had gotten back together after she returned from New Zealand and they were _still_ going strong.

"Nah, we're ring shopping with James." there was a slight pause and he responded. "I dunno. Dude, when are you planning on proposing?" he asked James.

"I was thinking New Years. And a June wedding."

"New Years proposal, June wedding." he told her. She said something and he chuckled. "No, I don't think he came up with that on his own."

"Did too!"

"He says he did. Yeah, I don't believe him either." James rolled his eyes and bent to observe what Camille was pointing at. "Well, I don't think he has. Hey James, did you meet Em's parents yet?"

James shrugged. "Nah. Emma doesn't really talk about them."

"He hasn't-OW!" Shrieking suddenly shot out from the phone. Jo's voice could be heard from across the shop. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME? PUT HIM ON THE PHONE RIGHT NOW!" Kendall, holding his ear and groaning, threw the cell phone at James. He caught it in one hand and held it a good foot away from his ear. "Jo?"

"Don't 'Jo' me! James, what the hell are you thinking?" she yelled.

"Jo, what are you talking about? I'm thinking I'm going to marry my girlfriend."

"James, you don't ask a girl to marry you without meeting her parents. You need to ask her father for her hand, dummy!"

James mouth fell open as he gaped at the phone. Camille stood up, shaking her head, and took the phone from him.

"Emma's not really that traditional, Jo." she paused, and a horror-stricken look crossed her face. "Oh- _really_?" she bit her lip and looked at James. "Oh, jeez…okay then. Let's talk about this later. Bye."

Camille hung up the phone and tossed it back to Kendall. She turned to James, who was still staring into space in shock. She waved a hand in front of his face.

"James?" Kendall joined her, waving his hand in front of his friend's face. Camille sighed. "I get it. He thought this was going to go perfectly, and you hit this roadblock."

James shook his head and leapt up. "Roadblock? I think not." He turned to his friends. "I'll just go home, talk to Emma and we'll go see her parents. They'll love me, let me have her hand, and I'll propose! No problem!"

"And what if her parents don't like ypu?" Kendall pressed. Camille nodded. "Yeah, Emma told me they're a little-"

"Please. I'm _James Diamond_." he winked at his friends and walked past them.

"And, he's back." Camille muttered. Kendall nodded as they watched their friend strut out of the store.

* * *

><p>Emma sighed as she pushed the door open, weighed down with groceries. She wasn't sure where James was- she'd been at the studio the entire day laying down vocals with Logan and Carlos- but today, Gustavo had attempted to choke Carlos with the straps of his helmet after Carlos had belched into the mike while recording. While Kelly was on maternity leave last month, she'd left Emma with a tranquilizer incase Gustavo got out of control. Emma had never needed it until today. Kelly was already back, but she wanted to work as secretary so that she could take care of her baby.<p>

So, after dragging Gustavo to his car (well- she made Carlos and Logan carry him) gotten him to his mansion, driven back to Rocque Records for _her_ car (Carlos still didn't have his license), forgotten to go grocery shopping, searched for non-dairy yogurt for twenty minutes only to find out that there _was_ none, yelled at the cashier for not accepting her coupons, and driven home, she was exhausted and ready to collapse in bed.

She dropped her key into the key bowl and stumbled into the kitchen and dropped her grocery bags on the counter, sighing with relief. She didn't want to make two trips down there, so she'd carried them all up. Some people considered that stupid. Emma called it efficiency.

She began pulling cartons and boxes out of the bag and sorting them. Refrigerator and non-refrigerator. Fruit and vegetables. Healthy and unhealthy stuff, only for when she was on her…woman time. Once the finished putting refrigerated things where they went, she began taking out the medicated items. Midol, James' allergy medication, vitamins for the both of them. She'd also stopped and gotten soaps for the both of them. Brooke Diamond's Cleansing Facial Scrub and Moisturizer, and 'Cuda Body Lotion- she'd noticed that he was running low yesterday. Emma never found James' 'Cuda obsession annoying. She also used a lot of products- a whole variety- but she'd completely switched over to his mother's skincare treatments. Not because she was sucking up, but because they _worked_. Besides…she thought 'Cuda made him smell _amazing_.

She was in the bathroom, sorting out their separate soaps in the shower then two big hands had clamped around her waist. She squealed and jumped, turning into the laughing face of James Diamond. She swatted at his arm and giggled. "Jerk!" he laughed and tossed her over his shoulder and left the bathroom, her playfully hitting his back and laughing. He tossed her onto the bed and climbed on, pinning her arms down and pressing his lips to hers. He ran his fingers through her long hand and she did the same to him. They finally separated, breathing heavily.

"What was that for?" she asked breathlessly.

"You got me new body lotion." he smiled kissing her cheek.

"I saw that you were low," she said, letting her head fall against the blanket.

"Well, thank you." she giggled and rolled to her side, facing him. She touched his face, loving the feeling of the barely-there scruff that had formed. "Seriously. What's up?"

"Can nothing be up?" he responded, raising an eyebrow.

"You must have been deprived today. You're never that affectionate when you get home."

"Well, we do work together. So I see you all day at work, but not today."

Emma shrugged. "True."

James sighed and lifted himself up. "Okay, there is something I wanted to talk to you about." Emma copied his motion, resting her body weight on her elbow. Her laughing face slipped into a stoic look, her hazel-green eyes staring right through him. "Nothing bad! I promise." she raised an eyebrow. "I was just wondering…" the phone ringing made Emma roll her eyes and groan, dropping herself onto the couch. She covered her ears. "Why is the phone so damn loud!" she yelled. James couldn't help but agree. The phone was ridiculously loud- he wasn't even sure why they had a landline anyway. He stood up and hit the screen button so that it went to voicemail.

He began walking back over as their voicemail burst out their two voices in obnoxious low tones groaning "_Speak_." They both laughed. They'd gone to see RENT for one of their dates several years ago, and Emma thought Roger and Mark's voicemail was the funniest thing ever. The tone sounded, and the voicemail began.

"Emmaline? It's your mother. What kind of voicemail is that? Is there someone living with you in that apartment? Or just you and that Camille girl being idiots? Or-is that Jo girl actually a _man_? Some nice lady from your workplace gave me your number. I can't believe you haven't even given me your landline number- why haven't you been answering your cell phone? Anyway, incase you've forgotten what I called you about since you couldn't visit during Thanksgiving-tell your boss that he's a jackass for making you work during a holiday- your sister is graduating in two weeks and therefore I _expect_you to be there. I found plane tickets for you already. Why don't you bring that boyfriend of yours as well? I know nothing about him and we all want to know. I WILL see you next week. Bye-bye!" the tone rang and James looked at Emma, who was horrorstruck.

"Emma? Babe, say something." James touched her cheek and gently shook her shoulder. Finally, she spoke.

"_Kelly_," she snarled angrily.

**I dunno, I thought it was good. Reviews?**

**Happy Thanksgiving!**

**-V**


	2. Chapter 2

**Did everyone enjoy their break? I certainly did...but alas, no homework was completed (I blame Sarah). Thus, I give you: chapter 2.**

***I do not own BTR or any references to their show or any awkward meeting-the-inlaws movies (i.e. Meet the Parents/Fockers)**

James watched as Emma stormed around the apartment, throwing dirty clothes into the hamper, tossing papers here and there, grumbling to herself. After the voicemail had ended, she'd leapt off the bed and ran downstairs, insisting on starting dinner. But James had taken over as she moved from one task to the other. He was mixing together her dad's homemade meat sauce and allowing water to boil for spaghetti while his angry girlfriend stormed about the kitchen.

"She _expects_ me to be there...who the hell does she think she is, I'm a grown freaking woman...can't believe her...those _implications_, the nerve...fricking Kelly and her big fricking mouth…"

"Babe, she is your mother," James started, but Emma threw a bunch of old papers on the table and began sorting them, still muttering, "Mother...please, she still thinks she's a drill sergeant..." she tossed official looking things into one pile, and scripts, sheet music and old lyrics into another. She then began separating the scripts from the sheet music and lyrics.

"I mean, I don't think the request was too unreasonable. They just want you to come home for Christmas."

"They know I work." she snapped, separating the scripts into music video scripts and TV show scripts.

"Gustavo was going to give us time off. We were going to try to go visit my Mom and my Dad and his wife in Minnesota, remember?"

"Yeah...and you were going to show me Hannukah! I can't go! Hah! Suck on that, Ma!" she separated the sheet music and the lyrics.

"Whoa there, sailor." she glared at him for stealing her favorite quote. "My parents said we can come whenever to celebrate Hannukah. I'm sure they'll understand if we go to visit your parents. And while we're on the topic, why did you lie to your mom about last Thanksgiving? You spent it with my family."

Emma sighed and began separating the bills and official letters into separate piles. "My parents aren't exactly...I don't know."

"What?" he abandoned the boiling water to rest his hands on her wrists to get her to stop sorting. She looked at him, bit her lip, then walked around him. She reached into the cup board for the noodles she'd just bought. "Emma, what is it?"

She just scowled and stretched higher to reach. He stepped behind her to reach up, but stepped back, knowing he'd get snapped at- she was sensitive about her height. Why, he didn't know; five foot six inches was above average for a woman. "Did you not hear that voicemail?" she said finally. "The woman's a menace."

"She just wants you to visit-"

"No, she just wants to try to exercise control over me. I'm twenty-three, damnit."

"Did you tell her that?"

"You think I haven't tried? She acts like-GOD!" Emma's nimble fingers had found the already opened pasta box, but it slipped through her fingers and poured the rest of the box on her head. She groaned as James gently pulled the pasta from her curls, chuckling.

"My family is very...judgmental." she said, trying to keep her calm.

James continued to gently pull the pasta shells from her hair. "So, you're afraid they won't like me?"

She sighed, reaching up for the second box of noodles. "I mean, they're just really rude sometimes. It's embarrassing." She groped for the noodle box, only to push it back further.

James reached up over her and grabbed the box easily. "Honey, I can take a little criticism."

"Oh, I know. Your ego's so big that criticism just bounces off of you." she smirked. He smirked back, then leaned down and kissed her sweetly. "Love you too."

Emma smiled, then sighed. "I'm just a little iffy with them right now. I mean," she continued talking as she hopped up onto the counter so that she was eye level with James "-I meant to go see them over Thanksgiving, but I explained to them that i was going with your family. Then my mom starts drilling me about you, so I changed my story and told her that I was needed last-minute for work because she wouldn't listen when I kept telling her that I really liked you and she kept getting in my face about who exactly you were-"

"Why didn't you just say James Diamond?"

Emma sighed. "Well, I tried that at first..."

~_Thanksgiving last year~  
><em>  
>"Look, he's going to be on TV, okay?" Emma shifted the remote in her hands.<p>

"What, like in the audience?" her mother inquired, leaning over her shoulder.

"No, he's performing."

"Performing-what?"

The screen zoomed in on the boys- now, men- dressed professionally and singing the national anthem.

Her father started laughing. "Yeah, right."

Emma rounded on him. "What?"

"Okay, I'll play along. Which fruitcake are you dating?"

Emma just groaned and turned the TV off.

"So they didn't believe you?"

"No," Emma muttered, her blood boiling. "I got made fun of, so I- ugh, never mind. I just don't want to go." She hopped off of the counter, took the pasta box from him and opened it.

"Baby, can't we talk about this?"

"James, I don't want to."

"But-"

"What the-BOW TIES?" she slammed the box down and bow tie pasta flew everywhere.

They stood there for a moment, Emma hanging her head down. James hesitated, then walked forward to put his arms around her, but stopped when she started talking.

"I don't want you stop loving me when you see where I come from."

James felt his heart sink when her shoulders rose and fell in a shuddering sigh. He walked forward and pressed his body into hers, wrapping his large arms around her smaller frame. She turned slightly and leaned into his grasp, pushing her face into the crook of his neck. He felt himself shudder in pleasure when she let out a breath that warmed his neck. He pushed his face into her sweet-smelling hair, breathing in and out. "Emmie, sweetie, I'll never stop loving you. Ever."

"Just wait 'til next week," she muttered. He pulled her closer and kissed her cheek. "Never, babydoll."

She smiled into his shirt and pulled away. "You really think we should go?"

James touched her cheek. "I want to meet your family, Emma. You're apart of my life now."

Emma smiled and leaned forward, her forehead pressing into his collarbone. "No matter how obnoxious my family is?"

"Ems, come on. You've met my mother-"

"The only reason I survived meeting your mother was because my mother raised me." she left his arms and poured the pasta into the boiling water. They both leaned onto the counter, remembering when James introduced his girlfriend to Brooke Diamond.

_~Two years ago~_

"Mom, this is Emma-"

"I don't like her."

Emma felt her smile drop. She looked up at her boyfriend, who was wearing the same expression of shock. She bit her lip as James began to speak.

"Mom-"

"Too scrawny in the arms, too muscular in the legs, hair is dyed too light, and her face appears to be scarred from years of not using Brooke Diamond's Skincare Products."

Emma touched her skin sensitively. James opened his mouth to retaliate. "Mom, listen-"

"Just because I allowed you to stay in California to live out your dreams doesn't mean that I am allowing you to let some fancy LA doll into our family. You said you were serious about this girl, but I am only saying this because I want you to be happy..."

She rambled on and on until James leaned down and whispered to Emma, "Don't worry, she'll come around."

"She did come around."

"Only after I accidentally-on-purposely broke that vase I'd gotten her for her birthday after she insulted my bone structure."

"That was her way of telling you that you're pretty." he reached over and stroked her cheek. "Your little cherubic face," he teased.

Emma rolled her eyes and pushed his hand away.

"So that's it then," she said, leaning into his grasp. "We're going to Ohio."

"I can do this, baby. Your parents will love me before 2018."

Emma sighed. "I just hope I won't regret this."

They stood there comfortably, leaning against the counter, lost in their own thoughts. That is, until the mass of bubbles from the boiling water began to emerge from their so-called dinner.

"MOTHERFU-"

"OH MY GOD!"

"WHAT THE HELL-"

"DIRTY BASTARD POT!"

* * *

><p>That night, they both went through their respective nightly face and hair care routines. Emma set down her favorite brush while James set down his lucky comb. They grinned at each other, then walked toward the bed.<p>

James climbed in first, scooting closer to the wall while Emma slid in next to him, snuggling up close. It had been like that in college too- Emma stayed up late studying while James faced the wall to block out the light from the lamp. To this day, it still wasn't clear who had gotten less sleep- with James' BTR schedule and Emma double majoring at UCLA for music production and journalism. But now, with both of them working, life had finally gotten easier. Emma was satisfied with life as it was.

But James wasn't. After kissing Emma goodnight, he found that he couldn't sleep. He stayed up, dragging his fingers through her hair gently, worrying about too many things all at once. Impressing Emma's parents was now his number one priority. He needed to gain their acceptance to start worrying about how he was going to propose- should he just do it? Right at the stroke of midnight? Or get Emma's parents help to plan something?

_Sleep on it, _he told himself._ You aren't helping anybody by looking ugly from no sleep.  
><em>  
>He sighed, then leaned over and pressed a kiss to the crook of Emma's neck. He let his lips trail over her neck until they rested over her ear and whispered, "I love you." He settled down and snuggled his body closer to hers, letting out a satisfied sigh.<p>

* * *

><p>Emma felt like the world's worst girlfriend. Ever since they'd started dating, talking to James and telling him all of her hopes and fears seemed so easy after years of bottling up her insecurities. He made her feel whole, safe and protected. He soothed her worries and helped her every problem.<p>

But after kissing her boyfriend goodnight, she just laid in bed, panicking about what would go down in the next week. She' would call her mother in with morning to confirm their plans- but she had to delay this as long as possible. What if their judgement, their attitude, ruined her entire relationship?

She loved her family, she really did. But she was so different from them all; she knew that if she were anything like them, she wouldn't be in LA, laying in the arms of James Diamond, living with him like the were a married couple. She loved him for who he was, but she knew that her family would need convincing.

_Please don't leave me after this_, she thought sadly, thinking of the amazing man behind her. He was all she ever wanted and more; she couldn't bear the idea of not having him.

She suddenly felt his hot breath on her neck and internally shuddered- God, she loved it when he did that. She felt his barely moist lips press to her collarbone and resisted the urge to curl in pleasure. She tried to keep still as the hot breath and his scruff scratch across her neck and nearly lost it when his lips touched her ear and his low, husky voice whispered, "I love you." As always, her heart swelled at the words and she felt a smile curl across her lips when he snuggled closer to her, sighing into her hair. She shook all thoughts of her family from her mind and curled to her other side. She pressed her lips to his neck and sighed. "I love you too."

_Just please love me next year._

**Til next time, friends...**

**-V**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm really happy with the responses I've been getting! Thanks a bundle guys!**

**I like to make references to stuff going on in the world; whether it be BTR related and whatnot.**

**I only own Emma! Enjoy!**

"Gustavo, I'm sorry." James cringed as his boss continued to yell at him through the phone. He sighed in frustration and grunted after tripping over the suitcase he'd just pulled out. Emma had just informed him that her mother "expected" them to be there within the next 3 days as to get James "acquainted" with the family. So here he was, trying to figure out exactly what to wear to Emma's sister's graduation. Emma had picked out her dress- a long-sleeved, scoop-necked blue velvet one that hugged her curves and stopped above her knees with her favorite black pumps. She had picked out a tie for him and had laid it next to her dress while he feverishly rifled through his clothes to pick out something nicer. But his boss wasn't helping. "Look, Emma left about a minute ago and she'll be down there to work and to explain- her parents invited us down for Christmas, but her sister- why can't you just-"

He pulled a shiny blue blazer and his favorite skinny jeans from the closet and hooked them over his arm. He grabbed his favorite Buster Clyde's that he'd personally helped design (Emma had once said something about Buster Clyde selling dress shoes to give to her brother) and walked out of the closet to see Emma walking back into the room, yanking at her collar. She dug through the closet, muttering "_Only_LA...it's December and still warm…"

"Weather's off baby. It's happening all over." James pressed a kiss to the side of her head in greeting and winced when Gustavo yelled again. "What? No, I was talking to Ems...well it's hot so she ran home to change!" he paused. "Yes, I'm sure she'll be there soon, will you relax?"

"I walked outside and right back in. That's how bad it is, Gus."

"DO NOT CALL ME GUS!" he roared and hung up. James snorted and tossed the phone onto their bed.

"What's up his bunion today?" James asked, walking into the bathroom with his and Emma's toiletries bag and several plastic bags- Emma's tediousness had been rubbing off on him, with organizing and whatnot.

"I think Griffin's visiting today; he actually made an appointment, but, as you know, he usually drops in, and Gustavo's generally good when under pressure from surprises." She said, her voice carrying from inside the closet.

"_Great_. He's probably going to ask about dropping us again. Or a tour."

The scraping from the curtains being moved stopped. "I swear, if he makes us go on tour during the holidays-"

"He won't. Or at least, I don't think so. Our new CD isn't set to launch until next summer." James finished zipping up the bags and began placing them into Emma's large, polka-dot bag.

"No, I mean, that'd be great. We'd _have_ to miss Christmas-"

"Didn't we already agree that we were going?" James said, walking back out into the bedroom area.

Emma stuck her head outside the closet, her bra strap hanging off of her shoulder. "Yes, but like I said, I don't feel totally comfortable going to my parents right now."

"Because I'm with you."

"No, it's not that. James, you know I love you," Emma said in exasperation. "I just don't want you to get hurt by my parents."

"What exactly are you afraid they'll do, Ems? What'll they say?" James shot back, letting his frustration get to him for a second. When Emma didn't respond, James straightened up and looked at the closet. Emma was facing away from him, her head bowed, her bare arms crossed, her curly hair flowing down her bare back. He stepped forward. "Ems, I'm sorry-"

"Just drop it." Emma said shortly. James sighed and obliged. They'll never get a conversation going until it actually happens. His phone buzzed and he groaned to see that it was Gustavo calling him back.

"Yes, Gustavo?"

"DOG! Change of plans. I need you and the other dogs in today."

"But I'm packing for my va-"

"THERE WILL BE NO VACATION UNLESS YOU AND YOUR DOGPACK ARE HERE PRONTO! AND GET EMMA HERE TOO! I'M SENDING A LIMO!"

James sighed and hung the phone up. "He needs me and the guys."

Emma walked out of the closet with her work slacks still on, trading her sweater vest for a conservative tank top and a blazer. "Let's roll, then. Tell Kendall we'll pick them up at the Palm Woods. We can finish packing tonight, maybe leave tonight and drive through Las Vegas-"

"Wait- driving? Why are we driving to Ohio? Why can't we just fly?"

"Because if we drive, the longer it takes to get there, the later we arrive, thus less time to spend with my family, the sooner we have to leave and the happier I will be."

She spotted James favorite blazer sitting in the bed and frowned. She walked into their closet and pulled out a more conservative, darker blazer, khaki pants and his nicest dress shoes. She set them on the bed. "And your tie..." she muttered, looking around.

"But I was going to wear the blazer from our last music video. They let me keep it so I could _wear_it."

"And it looks great on you. But this'll look better with my dress." She grabbed the tie and laid it out on the bed. He looked at her strangely and she avoided his gaze. "Let's not argue about this again. Please."

He sighed. "Whatever you say, babe." he muttered, shrugging and attempting to look indifferent.

Emma looked at him sadly, and sighed. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I'm sorry, baby. I love you." She said quietly. After a moment, James turned and wrapped his arms back around her, kissing her hair and whispering, "I love you too." For what seemed like the hundredth time in two days, she felt her heart break again. She knew what she was doing, but she couldn't lose him. For anything.

* * *

><p>Emma gripped James' hand comfortingly in her own as they walked downstairs. She felt that familiar tingle when he squeezed back. A limo was waiting for them outside their apartment complex with Freight Train waiting outside. Emma smiled and greeted him and James bumped fists with the guy.<p>

As the limo took off toward the Palm Woods, Emma noticed that James was checking his Scuttlebutter, so she decided to do the same. Gustavo had forced her to get one once it got out that she and James were an item (they'd been beast at keeping it quiet until they'd decided to move in together; their cover being that Emma was indeed the production manager and she went with the boys wherever they went- people got used to the idea after a while) so when they moved in together, she'd gotten a Scuttlebutter account. Her background was of black, white, yellow and pink musical notes and her profile picture was a single picture of herself at a red carpet event. She had wanted to put a picture of herself and James, but she didn't feel like dangling herself over the lion's den. James, on the other hand, had no problem putting a picture of himself and Emma, pressed cheek to cheek, at home. He put up pictures of themselves around their home and Rocque Records and showed her off constantly. Emma, being more low-key, tossed out information like tour dates and quelled rumors.

She looked through her replies. When she'd first gotten the account, she'd been secretly terrified about how many death threats she'd receive- she'd already changed her phone number twice after a few psychos had managed to get it and demand that she dump James and have him call whomever.

_Emma, you were on the Fashion Police section in Pop Tiger last week but we still love you! You look beautiful in everything!_

Emma smiled. _That's very sweet of you to say. Thanks dear! _She glanced at the URL. She didn't know what made her do it, but she clicked it.

It was a candid picture of her outside of Kelly's house. A few weeks ago, she and James had driven their respective cars to her house to help out her and her husband with car washing, and they'd taken care of it. Because she wasn't famous, Kelly never saw the point in living in a gated community, leaving her house open to being photographed and also not to overwhelm Rob, her husband. The picture in question was of Emma, standing next to James' Jeep, in a baggy sweatshirt with her former college's emblem on it, sweatpants and black-and-white checkered rain boots- she was wearing thick socks and she hated getting her feet wet while washing cars. She knew that it was sensible, but the paparazzi had different ideas.

_Ugh. Can you spell gag? Emma usually looks fabulous when going out, but she could have at least saved herself from embarrassment by wearing Uggs instead of rain boots with this get-up._

Emma sighed, causing James to look over at her in worry. "What is it?" He asked softly. Emma didn't reply but quickly typed in a status.

_I just want to apologize to everybody for not wearing Gucci heels and a Ralph Lauren gown to wash my car. I'll try to remember to do so next time because it's having such a huge impact on your day-to-day lives._

She sent it and waited. James glanced at her last status update and chuckled. "You are _mean_." he teased.

She shrugged. "I'm sarcastic. You've known that since the day I met you."

"How could I forget that? You told me you'd never date me for a second of my life." he laughed, taking her hand again and linking their fingers together.

She smiled and leaned her head against his. "Thank God I changed my mind," she muttered. He chuckled and kissed the side of her head.

The limo rolled to a stop and the door flew open. Three teenaged boys climbed into the limo- well, two of them did. The last one barrel-rolled through the door- right into Freight Train.

"Hey man! What's up?" Carlos punched Freight Train's knuckle and threw himself onto the seat in between Kendall and their body guard. Logan took a seat on Emma's other side. "How you doin'?"

"I'm fine. Did you check on Carlos last night?" she asked seriously.

"Oh yeah- well, as you can tell, he is still breathing. Those bruises may be around for while, so I used-"

"Is that my scarf from the 'Cover Girl' video?" James asked suddenly, staring at Carlos' neck.

"They needed it, James. Gustavo kind of tried to kill Carlos yesterday," Emma said. James slouched back into his seat, grumbling slightly. Emma squeezed his hand and leaned back against him, settling for the journey to Rocque Records.

* * *

><p>The limo arrived in record time and was greeted by a whole crowd of fans. It had grown bigger since the band started eight years ago and the numbers, surprisingly, had not faltered. So many people had expected them to finish their pop star lives and continue on with the former dreams, but the boys never got tired of Big Time Rush.<p>

Emma looked out the window, sighing. She remembered seeing girls like this on TV at concerts; she'd been a fan girl at one point in her life; but she'd never gone out and occupied an arena that the band in question was playing at. She'd never chased a tour bus; she'd never even gone to a meet'n'greet. She used to believe that those acts were childish and weird, and she wasn't going to pay two hundred dollars to shake somebody's hand. But now, she saw what dedication these girls had to BTR. James had told her stories about girls walking up to them and thanking them for saving their lives. It made her heart swell. She remembered when she was struggling as a young teenager; P!nk had been her refuge then, and she still was now.

Freight Train was the first to exit the vehicle. He called for the girls to clear a path so the boys could come out. Emma was the first to exit- being the production manager, she stood straight and tried to look professional. The boys exited one by one, the screaming getting louder every time a body exited the vehicle. She turned and began walking toward the doors of Rocque Records, purse and Netbook in hand, smiling politely at the girls. She turned and waited patiently for the boys, who were signing autographs and taking pictures with fans.

"Emma! Hey Emma, I loved your last Scutbut- I laughed _so_ hard!" Emma turned to smile at a short, blonde girl with a big smile and pretty brown eyes. "Oh, thanks! I hope I wasn't being too nasty- I'm just naturally sarcastic."

"Ohmigod! Me_. Too_!" Said the girl's taller, brown haired companion. "Like, why can't people just get a life?"

"Hey, kill your enemies with kindness, and use your sarcasm when needed. It's a special gift." Emma smiled at the girls as the boys made their way up to the doors and waved to the fans one last time.

"We love you guys! Thanks for everything!" Kendall called out to the crowd, causing girls to shriek hysterically. They blew a few kisses; Emma swore she saw some bodies drop.

"Make sure nobody dies," she muttered to Kris, one of the bodyguards. He nodded and continued to stare sternly at the crowd. James touched her waist and she resisted the urge to flinch- early in their dating days, yet after the paparazzi had found out that they were living together, Emma had actually had a shoe thrown at her head when James put his arm around her. She'd just happened to duck when she saw something on her own shoe; she'd bent down to wipe it off. She'd been lucky.

They made their way to Gustavo's office and took a seat. Kelly was there, cooing into a baby carrier. Emma set down her bag and Netbook onto her chair and made her way over to the baby carrier to see little Nathan inside.

"Hey, uhh, James, I think you have a hair out of place." Kendall said to his friend. James' hand flew up to his hair and he quickly excused himself to the bathroom. Kendall turned to Emma and raised an eyebrow.

Emma looked back. "What?"

"You know what."

She tilted her head back and sighed. She turned back to Kelly, who was looking at her with the same expression. She raised an eyebrow right back, and then turned to Carlos and Logan. Logan was also looking at her with the same expression. He elbowed Carlos, who'd been stretching to see the cute baby. He quickly sat back down and gave Emma the same look.

She groaned and sat down as Kendall began talking. "Look, Camille and Jo told us everything about your family. Do they know anything about you and James?"

"They still don't know who he is." Emma said quietly, looking at her hands.

"Wouldn't they have seen you guys in the magazines?"

"Look, and I don't want to offend you guys at all, but the only magazine that heavily features you guys is _Pop Tiger_. My mom reads _People_ and _Us_, and I think the most they've gotten is a bad shot of us. They mostly want James. Besides, I usually have sunglasses and a scarf or hat on."

"That's not really the point," Logan said. "The point is, you aren't trying to change James, right?"

"You know I'd never want him to change," she groaned. "But I'm sure Camille and Jo told you that my parents are strictly conservative?"

"What does that have to do with James?" Kendall asked.

She sat back and threw a scathing look at him. "This is what my parents will see to be wrong with James." She began counting off on her fingers. "He's an actor, thus he does not have a real job. He's a singer-slash-dancer- ditto, with _other_ criticisms. He's a model- again, criticisms that I don't want to say out loud. He's Jewish-"

"What _are_ your parents, racist?" Kendall asked.

"That's anti-Semitism, genius." Logan cut in.

"No, they just want me to get with a conservative white guy who can provide for the family." Emma said coolly, not looking up. "I just don't want them to criticize his every move. I know James says he's strong, but let's face it, he'll get hurt. My parents will kill him."

"So what's going to happen then?" Kelly said. "You go about this plan, your parents approve of him, and you'll let him continue being himself except when you visit your parents?"

"I never visit them anyway. We'd never go to Ohio." Emma stood up and walked over to the window, observing the LA traffic below. "I wouldn't want to go back to Ohio for anything. It's cold, the people are snotty like they think they're LA Queens or whatever, and I don't even know why my family would want me back anyway." she said with finality.

"Why's that?" Emma closed her eyes, wanting to slap Logan; he _would_ be the one to keep the conversation going. She couldn't stop herself.

"I guess I'm the black sheep of the family," she said quietly. "Didn't exactly graduate with perfect honors, libertarian, accepting of modern society…I'm too different to be shown off. Then again, I guess they'd expect me to bring somebody like James home."

The office was quiet. Emma kicked at the carpet as James walked back in. She lifted her head back up and shot him a smile. "Uh, Kelly, where is Gustavo anyway?"

"He's in the recording studio. Griffin still hadn't arrived yet-"

"But now I have!" Griffin said, popping up from behind James. He shrieked a little and jumped. "_That's_ how like it. Fear." James frowned and sat down in his chair. Griffin walked around Gustavo's desk and took a seat in his chair. "Now, I've already had this discussion with Gustavo. As you know, your next CD _Last Time Around _is premiering this summer, chock-full of hot summer singles and ballads that will make girls cry and attempt to kill their boyfriends."

"And you want us to go on tour after that." Kendall said.

"Yes. And then, you're done."

The whole group stared at him for a moment. "Say whaa?" They all said.

"You heard me. _Last Time Around _really will be your last time around."

"Griffin, the title of that song was an overstatement." Emma protested. "Gustavo and I were talking about changing it to _Here We Go Again_ once we got the song finished-"

"Emma, your songwriting skills are pristine. The one time you went wrong was with _No Idea _two albums ago." Emma flushed when she remembered. She and James had gotten into their first serious argument and she'd been crying while writing that song. They'd sampled "No Idea" from All Time Low, one of Emma's favorite bands, but she'd been upset and had written the lyrics while she was distracted and ended up writing 'Every time you come around, you put a lightening bolt on my face' during the first chorus. The mockery that had induced was overwhelming, but it had been overshadowed by the criticism they'd received from sampling the song- people were screeching about the boys "stealing' from ATL. Emma and Alex Gaskarth had put out a dual statement during a press conference saying that the sampling had been at the complete compliance of both parties and Emma had thrown in a joke around the end about how she'd screwed up the lyrics. Alex had then proceeded to analyze the lyric, calling it an excellent metaphor for being shocked by somebody who didn't know you loved. Of course, after the press conference, James had believed that he'd "seen something" between her and Alex, and immediately apologized, thus ending their fight. Emma glanced at James. His face was also slightly pink- he was obviously thinking of the same memory. "However, the decision is final. I know that all of you are moving onto bigger and better projects-"

James' eyes shot to Kendall's, who looked just as confused. Did Griffin know something that they didn't? James got his attention, and pointed to his finger. Kendall shrugged, shaking his head.

"-and it's about time for Gustavo to find somebody fresh and new. Emma, that'll be your job once their final tour is over. It's going to be the whole summer long and then you'll be finished. Bye!" he hopped up and left the room, his assistants tailing behind.

The group sat in shocked silence. "He's done it," Kelly whispered. "He actually did it."

"Look, let's be rational about this," Logan said. "Maybe he'll change his mind."

"I'm back again!" Griffin strutted back into the room. The boys shot each other hopeful glances. "I forgot to give you all complimentary fruit baskets! Also, there will be a Goodbye Party scheduled for September 25th. Now, I've got to go teach my lemur how to Dougie. Bye!" He left the room again.

"He can't be serious!" James said fretfully, pulling at his hair.

"He is." a somber voice said. The group turned to see Gustavo walking into the room, head hanging low.

"Gustavo, we love doing Big Time Rush!" Carlos pleaded.

"Yeah, isn't there something you can do?" James begged.

Gustavo sighed. "No. There isn't."

"How did this even happen? Every time he has a meeting about dropping us, he always ends up changing his mind! But now he's got a 'Goodbye Tour' and a 'Goodbye Party' scheduled." Kendall complained.

"It's my fault," said a quiet voice from the doorway. The group turned to see Katie, dressed in a business suit and a sad look on her face.

"Katie, what happened?" Emma asked, walking over to her.

The girl sighed. "I got a call from a director. He wants James in his movie. We were having a meeting about scheduling conflicts and James contract. We weren't going to say anything until we could work out a schedule, because I knew you'd want to take the role." she said, directly to James.

He looked around at Gustavo. "Great as that is, that's one project. What about the rest of us?"

"That's the thing. Griffin came in at the wrong time. He saw the contracts on my desk."

"Con-_tracts_?" Emma asked.

Katie then spoke up. "The movie contract…for you." she said, looking at James.

"A contract for the Minnesota Wild…for you," Gustavo said pointedly at Kendall, who fell back in shock. "And a cop for you," he said to Carlos. They all looked at him. He jumped. "What? I didn't do anything!"

"We know, Carlos," Katie sighed. "Apparently, your dad put in a good word for you since you expressed no interest into moving back to Minnesota."

"And they just expect us to jump up and take these offers and leave behind the best thing that's ever happened to us?" Kendall challenged. The other boys nodded vigorously.

"Guys…why you think about it, you've been at this for eight years," Kelly said carefully. They all looked at her, shocked. "It's not that anybody wants to you quit," she said quickly. "I mean…when you think about it, you guys have been growing out of this for a long time. James has already moved out. Logan's the only one who went to college."

"Speaking of," Logan said suddenly. "I've completed my undergraduate, and I've been looking at colleges to begin medical school…" he trailed off and looked at his friends apologetically. "Kelly and Gustavo are right. It's time to move on."

"I don't even want to go to the Police Academy. I want to be a superhero! I just need more time to think of a name!" Carlos complained.

"Carlos, being a police officer is just like being a superhero," Kelly reasoned.

"Yeah, as long as you don't abuse your authority and beat up helpless victims of a 'wrong place wrong time' scenario." Emma said comfortingly. They all glanced at her and she shrugged.

Carlos seemed to consider their words. "I'll have to put a stop to that!" he declared. Emma smiled, proud of him.

Kendall glanced at Gustavo. "So that's it then? He's dropping us- just like that?"

"Griffin doesn't want you guys anymore. He's finally decided to stop paying for everything and he wants me to find somebody new." Gustavo grumbled. "I tried to reason with him all I could. You guys are more popular than ever, your fan base hasn't shrunk, you've matured-"

"I can't believe his excuse it that you're getting old. We aren't even twenty-four!" Emma said angrily. She ran her fingers through her hair, looking distressed. "I don't want to go on a damn talent search…"

"One more thing," Kelly said nervously. They all looked at her. "Rob and I have been talking about moving to San Francisco, closer to his parents. We were talking, and we don't think Hollywood is the best place to raise Nathan."

Gustavo looked ready to scream. Emma placed a hand on his arm. "Gustavo, it's cool. I totally see where Kelly's coming from. And I'm not ready to settle down like that for awhile. You'll still have me."

James' head snapped up and looked at Emma, mouth hanging open. He threw a look at Kendall, who looked just as surprised. He cleared his throat. "Hey Emma," she turned. "You've got a little…" he pointed toward her mouth. She clapped a hand over her lips, looking horrified, and ran out of the room.

"That wasn't necessary. You know she's like James when it comes to appearance." Logan said to Kendall.

"It was completely necessary." James stood up and ran a hand through his hair, looking distressed. "She doesn't want to settle down? Seriously?"

"James, she might've just meant with kids." Kelly insisted. The office gossip was mainly about James and Emma. Everybody was completely aware that James wanted to ask Emma to marry him, but how they'd managed to keep it from Emma, that was simply impressive. "I'm sure she'd be all for marrying you, but she may not want kids right now."

"What if she doesn't want kids at all?" James complained. "I want to have a family at some point- what if-"

"JAMES." Kendall stood up and grabbed his friend by the shoulders. "Stop with these 'what ifs!' If you keep asking yourself that, you'll never ask her. Don't you want to be happy?"

James sighed and looked at his friends. It was difficult to believe that this time next year, they'd be done. No more Rocque Records, no more shenanigans in the recording booth, no more sticky situations that they'd have to make a plan to get out of. He felt a lump forming in his throat. "This is just all difficult to digest," he said softly. "I can't believe that this'll all be over."

"None of us can," Kelly said quietly. She picked up Nathan in her arms, gently rocking him. "But I've entered a new stage in my life. It's like a new beginning. Once it starts, you'll always have the memories. But it'll be a new adventure."

"Maybe we should just save this talk for after James and Emma get back from Emma's parents." Logan said quietly. James groaned, remembering the packing and the 'talk' he needed to have with Emma.

"Right. We need to do finishing touches on the album when we get back from break." Gustavo stood up. "Now get out."

* * *

><p>"It's just weird to think about," James said quietly. He and Emma were enjoying lunch by the pier. The sweltering sun had dissipated over the course of the morning and there was now a cloud cover hovering over Los Anglos. Emma shivered; she should've kept on her sweater vest. James noticed and scooted closer to her and wrapped an arm around her. He didn't have a jacket, though normally he'd be wrapping it around her shoulders. She snuggled into him and stuck another fry in her mouth. Normally, she'd be eating a salad with her meal, but on her depressed days, she'd just get a cheeseburger and fries with a soy milkshake. Too much dairy made her sick, but some days she needed it. She was just grateful to live in LA, where there were organic food stores everywhere, and every restaurant had no-dairy options.<p>

"I know it will be," Emma said softly. "I was only with you guys for half of your career. It's going to be weird going into Rocque Records to work with a totally new artist."

"The next few months are going to be an emotional rollercoaster." James couldn't even bring himself to finish his hamburger. He set it down and sighed. "I can't believe we're almost finished."

"Hey- you've got a job lined up for next October, and the guys are all starting new chapters in their lives. Logan's finally going to medical school, Carlos is finally going to be the superhero he dreamed of being, and Kendall's going-"

"-back to Minnesota." James growled a bit. Emma smiled, playing with his hair. "Yes, to play for his dream hockey team. That's his calling."

"Yeah, but-" James sat up and stretched. "It's just a little frustrating. I mean, Kendall was the one who got us here. Gustavo wasn't going to pick me. Now he's tossing it all away to go back to Minnesota-"

"He isn't tossing anything. Griffin cut you guys." Emma said matter-of-factly. "I know it's hard to accept, but that's what happened."

"What if I'm not good enough, Emma?" James looked her directly in the eyes. "What if I can't handle Hollywood on my own?"

"You won't be alone." Emma took his hand. "I'll be with you every step of the way."

"Promise?"

"I'll promise if you promise not to leave me for some movie star babe when you start winning Oscars." James snorted and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "As long as you don't realize what a loser I am and take off-_stop_!" she giggled. His scruff was tickling her neck as he kissed her.

"That'll never happen. The only way I'm leaving is if you order me to. And even then I won't." he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. Emma sighed satisfactorily and leaned her head against his shoulder. "I love you."

"Love you too."

**So hopefully my audience can make a generalization about what kind of family Emma comes from. It's preeeety crucial to the plot.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**-V**


	4. Chapter 4

**Aloha, friends! Since you reviewers have been so lovely you can be expecting an increase in updates as the year draws to a close. I am supposed to be reading a book over break for English, which upset me, but I was not aware of the fact that the book in question is barely over 150 pages as opposed to last year, when I was forced to read ****The Grapes of Wrath ****over break. Not fun. So, assuming I get the book finished before Wednesday of next week (which I most likely will) it's looking to be a good few weeks.**

**I also have a proposal for anybody who wants to team up with me and write a story. I enjoy drama, therefore I love to write drama.**

**If anyone believes that James is a but out of character, he starts to show back up in here as he loses his cool. He's done some growing up, but he's still the same guy. Emma's just a HBIC.**

**But for now, enjoy this new chapter.**

"Okay, so if we take the I-80 East, that'll take the least amount of time if we take turns driving all night."

"But if we take the I-70, we can stop in Kansas to visit my other relatives, maybe spend a day at their crib-"

"Emma, we're going straight to Ohio. I love your dad's parents, but please stop trying to avoid-"

"I'm not trying to avoid anything!" Emma snapped, slamming the door behind her and throwing the bag on the floor. They'd gone to bed last night smiling, but tensions had risen as soon as they'd gotten up.

"Look-" Emma stopped and turned to him. "I don't want to fight. I'm sorry, I know we're both stressed about stuff, but the fighting has got to stop, Ems."

Emma sighed and ran a hand through her equally messy hair. "I know, I know…" She stepped toward him. "No more arguing." She held her hand out. James looked at it and chuckled. He gripped her hand, his large hand dwarfing hers. Emma smiled, tightening her grip, and pulled him toward her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on her tip toes to press her lips to his. He responded, smiling into the kiss. Emma began running her fingers through his hair, attempting to deepen the kiss. James pulled away and chuckled a bit when her lips moved to his neck.

"Emma…"

"Sorry, sorry." She stepped back and pulled her hair into a ponytail. "We're taking my car." she said monotonously, looking straight at him.

James opened his mouth, and then closed it. "Fine. I'm driving." Emma opened her mouth furiously, but them imitated James and pressed her lips together. He smirked back, and leaned in for another kiss.

* * *

><p>"Really though, why can't we take the Jeep?"<p>

"You know what kind of people live in my town? Kids who steal cars, kids who deal drugs, and kids who get arrested for manslaughter. I don't want your pride and joy to get keyed or something." Emma played with his hair as she talked. James smiled and closed his eyes, allowing her to do what nobody else could do. Traffic was heavy today, so they could relax for a few more minutes.

"_You're_ my pride and joy." he informed her. Emma smiled, and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek, feeling slightly bad about her untruthfulness. He glanced at her, noticing her apparent discomfort. "Babe?"

Emma shrugged. "It's just…" she was cut off by the loud honking and swearing of the guy behind them. She turned and glared. "HEY, ASSHOLE! SHUT UP, WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A TRAFFIC JAM!"

"GET A PAIR OF GLASSES, BITCH!" Emma threw herself back onto the seat and unbuckled herself. "Hell no, he did not just call me a bitch-James, don't move this car before I kill the bastard-"

"Emma…" James said weakly. Emma looked up to see the street completely empty. She scowled and crossed her arms.

"We really need to get you medication or something for your road rage before you kill somebody."

"Shut up."

* * *

><p>Three hours into the trip, Emma already began to hate it. Truth be told, she detested long car rides, especially in her small car. Ever since moving to LA, she'd been dead-set on getting a new car. She'd gotten the Saturn when she was seventeen, but it had been used and whoever had owned it beforehand had apparently had a smoking problem. She had scrubbed every inch of the inside of that car before she'd left for college, but the scent still lingered. And being in Ohio, it was cold from October til April, and rolling down the windows was not an option. But since LA was warm most of the time, she had been looking into getting a new car. She'd flat-out refused to allow James to pay for it; it was something she wanted to do on her own. Same with allowing him to drive her car. She trusted James with her life, but ever since she'd started driving, she'd never felt comfortable being in a car while somebody else was driving.<p>

She leaned her head closer to the window and closed her eyes. She took off her glasses before doing so. She'd switched her contacts out for her spectacles after the incident with the guy was well out of her mind.

"Hey, don't fall asleep on me," James joked. "I'll get lonely."

Emma smiled a bit. "Long day, babe."

"We can stop at a hotel if you'd like. I mean, I know we've only been driving for a few hours-"

"Nah. Let's go 'til one of us gets tired."

"So as long as I can stay awake, we're good." he said, looking over at her.

"Oh, can it. I'll be fine once I take a few minutes."

"Lean your seat back." Emma did so, and she felt the satisfying stretch of her back as she leaned. She grabbed her pillow that was sitting in the back and stuck it underneath her head. She stretched again and lay limp on the seat for a moment, then turned to face James, curling up in the seat to get comfortable. James sneaked a glance at her and smiled.

"You are adorable," he said, eyes now back on the road. Emma smiled and yawned. "Love you,"

James reached over and grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together. "Love you more," he said as he brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it.

Emma smiled and snuggled her face into the pillow. She frowned when the smell of smoke started to get to her. "Sorry, babe." She let go of his hand and turned the other way to face the window. He chuckled and rubbed his hand on her slightly exposed hip. "It's alright…"

"_She's so tiny."_

_I glanced up at him. He still looked the same, except he seemed to be almost glowing. His beautiful eyes were shining and his mouth was stretched in an eternal smile. I jerked my head at him, my mouth and body moving without my accord. "Take a seat, hotshot."_

_He laughed nervously, and gingerly slid onto the bed beside me, wrapping one arm around my shoulder, the other reaching to stroke the forehead of the precious doll in my arms. _

"_Why so serious?" I joked, nudging him gently, trying not to wake her. He laughed again, leaning his normally perfect head of hair against my sweaty rat's next; he'd been running his hands through his mop for the past hour; of course it was messy. I leaned back against the pillows, feeling suddenly exhausted. _

"_Can I hold her?" he asked suddenly, his eagerness almost childlike._

_I snorted. "Of course not. You're not her father or anything," I said while I handed her over, planting a kiss on his cheek once she was in his arms. He gasped a little, almost shell-shocked at the idea that he was holding a baby, something we'd made together, in his arms. _

"_Hi baby," he whispered. "I'm your daddy." he swallowed and continued. "I'm your daddy…and I love you so, so much…" he brought her closer to him and gently kissed her face. She squirmed and made a cute baby noise. He laughed, a breathy, choking sound, while tears slid out of his eyes. _

_He shifted her weight in his arms carefully; I made no move to catch her if she fell. I trusted him._

Emma snapped awake and looked at the clock. It was still light out. She glanced at James, slightly embarrassed. She'd been having these fantasies since their last serious fight- they'd actually nearly broken up a year ago, but before Emma had even been able to walk out the door, he'd stopped her and begged her to say, insisting that he couldn't live without her. When she'd shot back with the response that he wouldn't, because she was Gustavo's production assistant, he'd actually nearly started crying and hugged her tighter than he ever had. He'd been blubbering a bunch of this, spitting out words like _marriage_ and _children_ and _love_…

Emma sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She'd never be able to admit it to herself, but she hardly wanted to get married. If marriage didn't lead to divorce, it would only lead to a stoic marriage. Her parents spoke to each other as if they were teachers in a school, not two people who had fallen in love and birthed four children. She couldn't let herself and James fall into that type of relationship. She knew that she wanted nobody else in the world to be with besides James Isaac Diamond. From the minute she'd seen him, and fallen for his good looks, she'd been captivated. Then he'd opened his mouth.

"_You don't look like you're from around here." Emma nearly dropped the stack of papers that Gustavo had ordered her to separate and organize. She turned and her heart nearly stopped._

_That James guy- oh god, he was even more gorgeous up close. His hands were held out, ready to catch the papers in case she dropped them._

"_Wouldn't want to get you in trouble with Gustavo, huh?" Emma had just blushed, still not saying anything, and just shrugged. "Not a talker? That's cool. We can just make out." Emma's head snapped up at this, looked shocked and slightly disgusted. Is he serious? Oh, he looked like such a good kisser. No, No, Emma! He's a jerk!_

"_Yeah right." Emma said, not thinking her comeback through._

God, she hated guys like that. She'd been like that in high school. But she had a feeling that there was something so much more to him, so she did what she always did- acted like she hated him.

"_Diamond, you need to get out of my face. I wouldn't date you for a second of your life."_

_James smirked. "Challenge accepted. Let's make it a minute instead."_

_Emma had just groaned and walked away._

"Uh oh." Emma's eyes flew open and she looked at James, who was staring at the dashboard with a nervous face. Emma frowned as the car began sputtering and James began hitting the wheel. "What did you do to my car, Diamond?"

"Emma, this just started going out!" James eyes flew over the dashboard, then stopped the car immediately as smoke burst from the hood. He frantically struggled with his seatbelt. "Emma, get out of the car! It's overheating!"

Emma did as he said and yanked off her seatbelt. She threw the door open and stumbled out of the car, catching her foot over the edge of the floor mat and landing on her hands and knees in the dirt. James had already ran around the side of the car. He grabbed Emma and pulled her to her feet. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her from the car.

"James, I can stand!" Emma snapped. She tried to pull herself from his grip, but stopped struggling when the smoking began to subside.

"There. It stopped." James let go of Emma and she walked back toward her car. "Now we can-" she was cut off by the front of the car exploding completely. Flames engulfed the front end.

"OH MAN!"

"GET THE SHIT!"

* * *

><p>"So what the hell happened?" Emma asked, shivering slightly. James noticed and pulled off his sweatshirt. Emma was already wearing a hoodie of her own, but James pulled it over her head even after she shook her head and tried to push it away.<p>

They'd figured out that they were just an hour outside of Las Vegas, and they'd immediately called a mechanic- Emma wasn't sure what would have happened if they hadn't been able to get signal. It was faint, but they'd managed to look up a garage and call a cab to meet them out there.

"Your uhh, your radiator fan was not coming on." the mechanic said in a heavy accent, wiping his hands. His team had finally retrieved the parts of Emma's car that had been blown across the desert. "Probably because it was too old."

"It was a 2002," Emma said through gritted teeth.

The man shrugged. "Was it pre-owned?" When Emma nodded her confirmation, he shrugged again. "Previous owner was probably a bitch."

Emma stared sadly at the car. It had been a gift from her grandfather when her dad was putting off buying her a car, and she'd destroyed it.

"So she's dead." Emma said bluntly.

He nodded. "She went boom. No fixing."

James stepped forward, checking his wallet. "Listen, if you could follow us to the city and get me to an ATM, I'll pay you for your troubles."

The man grunted and waggled his fingers toward James. He started, and looked back at Emma. She shrugged and jerked his finger at him. James followed the man a few feet away. The man was muttering in his broken English and James occasionally nodding, and muttered "Mm-hm" and "Yeah, no problem." but his head jerked back and he just glared at the man for a moment. The man muttered something and James nodded. "Yeah, that's what I thought," he snapped. "Just get it to the city."

"What?" Emma asked as James walked over to her, fuming.

He glanced at her, and then kicked the dirt. "He said he couldn't fit us in the truck, and wanted you to sell the car to him for spare parts and he said he wanted you to sell yourself as well, but he said that he was joking. I hope so."

Emma threw her hands into the air. "Men are pigs."

"There's the cab," James said, seeing it approach them. They both grabbed their bags and walked toward the cab. James leaned to the driver's side to talk to the driver while Emma popped the trunk. "Hey listen, buddy, I gotta get to an ATM machine."

"You got no money?" the cab driver grunted, looking disbelieving.

"Yes. He _has no _money." Emma snapped, coming around from the back of the car to grab James' bags.

"Emma, I can-"

"I'll do it. Just make sure he'll take us to the city." Emma took James bag from his hand as he shook his head and looked back at the driver. He chuckled. "Women. Huh?"

The man didn't crack a smile. James let his own drop and cleared his throat. "So if you could just, take us to-"

"Bringing your woman to Sin City? Wrong move, bro." the man lit another cigarette. James gagged and pulled his face away from the window. "You hook up with one stripper and suddenly she leaves you in the city with nothing- okay, it was more like six….then you gotta be a cab driver to pay rent…"

"You're disgusting. And you're not smoking that while we're paying you to take us to an airport. Looks like you'll be meeting my parents a bit sooner, babe." Emma climbed into the cab, attached to her cell phone, looking up flight tickets to Cleveland. She swallowed. "Dear God…"

"Delays?" James asked as he slid in next to her.

"Nah. I booked us tickets already. I was hoping for a delay. I've always wanted to go to Las Vegas." She snapped her phone shut and rested her head against James.

"You won't when he leaves you," the cab driver said, cigarette still hanging out of his mouth. James opened his mouth to snap at him, but Emma beat him to it. "Didn't I tell you that I didn't want you using that cancer stick while I'm in the car?" she reached forward and grabbed the cigarette, throwing it out the window.

The man reached into his pants and pulled out another pack. "Nice try, sister. I'm loaded." he reached over his shoulder and slammed the gate shut, cackling.

"Asshole," Emma muttered.

* * *

><p>They had made it to the airport in time for their flight, and they had called the guys and told them what had happened. Emma's eyes were closed and she was leaning against James shoulder. His head was leaned against hers as they both slept.<p>

The flight itself had gone fine; James had half expected Emma to yell at a flight attendant when she couldn't fit her carry-on onto the top of the storage unit, but she'd managed to fit it in after a few minutes of pushing.

It was when they'd landed when things had gotten out of control.

Emma and James strutted up to the baggage unit and smiled politely at the young man

"Excuse me, we seem to be missing a bag-"

"Well. If it isn't James Diamond and his arm candy. Or shall I say, _not_." the man sneered. Emma frowned. "Excuse me?"

"I'm sure I should just get right on to finding your missing luggage. What, is it filled with your man products?"

"Actually, it is." James replied. "I just got a whole new pack of 'Cuda and it's in that luggage. I need it to get through the day."

"I'll just get on my compooter…" the guy muttered. Emma and James shot each other bewildered looks.

"Listen, Sassy." Emma shot at the man. "We're missing-" she stopped and took a good look at the guy. "Carl Cairns? Is that you?"

"Give the gold-digger a prize!" Carl yelled, throwing his arms up. "Yes, it is I, Emma Radwany. While you're off at Hollywood parties and having the time of your life, some of us need to take on lame-ass jobs just to get by. I'm still living with my parents!"

"That's your own fault. You graduated valedictorian and I didn't. I didn't even come _close_ to that and I'm _still_ happier than you are. Suck it up and get a life. And while you're getting a life, get my boyfriend's Cuda!"

"Fine." Carl turned with pursued lips and began typing something into the computer. Emma tapped her fingers against the counter, looking impatient.

"Oh, so sorry. Your bag was left in the Las Vegas airport. It'll be put on the next flight out." Carl smirked.

James shrieked and grabbed his hair. "How am I supposed to survive without my 'Cuda?"

"You know," Carl said to Emma. "This fate could have been avoided if the airline had a sassy gay friend. Can we borrow yours?" he sniggered.

"I bet _you_ don't even shower. At least my boy takes care of himself. And that was a terrible joke." Emma spat at the man. He just cackled as they continued walking away. She sniffed and shifted her bag on her shoulder again as she dialed a number while pushing James out the door. "I'll be back Carl!" She yelled as she pushed James from the gate.

"Emma, I don't have 'Cuda!" James whined as they walked through the automatic doors. "My face is going to lose its glow, my hair is going to lose its shine and become a total mess, my rosacea's going to come back-"

"James, relax. We'll fix it." Emma avoided his eyes, pretending to be focused on her phone as they walked away.

James noticed. "Emma, what aren't you telling me?"

Emma sighed and turned towards him. "You won't like hearing this."

"What?"

She swallowed and looked at him. "I…don't think there are any 'Cuda stores in the state of Ohio."

Airport security rushed to the front of the building when a piercing shriek tore through the entire airport. People were looking for the source of the screaming, but nobody appeared to notice the pop star lying on the ground next to a young woman surrounded by several bags.

* * *

><p>"So who <em>was<em> that guy?"

"Carl Cairns. We were in Japanese Club together. He got mad because I got Co-President with my friend Mitch while he just got Treasurer. He said I lacked the passion and dedication for the presidency. I also beat him at other stuff too; like video games, and writing contests; and he ended up valedictorian while I was in the top one hundred of the class." Emma double-checked the number on her phone, then scowled and began typing in a new one as they sat down at the shuttle stop.

James snorted. "What a jerk. I'd love to have graduated like you did."

"Mmmhm." Emma finally dialed the correct number and held it up to her ear.

"Who are you calling?"

"Rental car place down the road; we can take the shuttle down there. It's only…six-thirty. My parents eat super-late." She scowled in disgust. "I just hope I don't gain twenty pounds while I'm out here. My mom calls herself a health freak, but if she were a health freak like we were-"

"She should come see our apartment," James chuckled.

"Absolutely not." Emma muttered as the shuttle car pulled up.

* * *

><p>"Here we are," Emma muttered as they pulled off of the highway. She made a right turn and drove down a nice-looking neighborhood. To their left was a country club, and to their right there was an enormous lake.<p>

"This doesn't look so bad!" James commented. "I thought you said that there were delinquents in this town."

"This is where my grandparents live. My parents are in the next town over." Emma pointed to a sign that said _Ridgewood- Corp. Limit_. "Not even a 'Welcome to Ridgewood' sign…I thought they'd have made some changes with how long I was gone…"

Emma continued driving through the town. They passed an ugly-looking grey building that Emma identified as her old high school "-It's shaped like a gun from above…I don't know why they couldn't have made it a square building…" , a bike trail where several kids sat smoking "-I graduated with that guy-" and a shopping plaza that was only half full. "-Is that a gun store? That used to be a B.F. Wang's…"

After passing another intersection, she turned and went down a small street that ended at another larger street. She waited until she had a turn and then pulled onto the other street. She made another turn and began climbing a hill.

"Here we are…"

**Duh-duh-duhhh! Here come the Radwany's, hee hee.**

**Now, for those of you interested in my proposal:**

**WHEN I AM DONE WITH THIS STORY: I am going to start another one. But here's the issue. I need a co-author. This is going to sound so wrong typing this out, but I need somebody who is good with writing smut. Not just any smut: slash smut and possibly regular smut. That is the main reason I need for a coauthor. Firstly, I am NOT homophobic in any way. I am simply not skilled in the area of writing smut. Particularly smut involving males. Secondly, my co-author will help me with the development of the plot. It is a serious, Nicholas Sparks-type love/angst story. That's all I'm going to say. Anybody who wants to help has until the end of the year to tell me. Once the clock strikes 2012, do not PM me asking to be a co-author. Your 'audition' per say, is to either A) I will read smut fics that you already have (I am looking for cream of the crop here) or B) If you do not have any smut fics up, let me know and I will give you a scenario and you will write it. Easy? I thought so.**


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